


The Princess and the Pauper

by eva (qlexy), glitteringeva



Category: RWBY
Genre: 'wooing the princess 101' by renowned thief emerald sustrai, Angst and Fluff, F/F, fairy tale AU, implied sex, mentions of abuse but nothing major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 16:30:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10442136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qlexy/pseuds/eva, https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitteringeva/pseuds/glitteringeva
Summary: Once upon a time there was a princess with hair white as snow and tears so cold they burned her skin. Fairy tale AU.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written by a good friend of mine who asked me to post it on my account since she currently doesn't have one. You can find her on tumblr under the user name headcanonsfromremnant, there you'll also find the fanart the story is based on.  
> Anyways, there can never be enough Snowflake in the rough, so enjoy guys.

Once upon a time there was a princess with hair white as snow and tears so cold they burned her skin.

She knew her parents loved her. That’s why they never allowed her to leave the castle, because the world outside was dangerous and cruel. That’s why they never allowed anyone to talk to her, because no one was good enough for her.

She didn’t know what loneliness was until her sister left. She didn’t know what pride was until her father stripped her of it. She didn’t know what hope was until her mother showed her the harsh reality.

But after all, her parents loved her. Being a princess was a blessing the told her, because princesses could have everything they ever wanted. She just didn’t understand what it was like to be happy.

______________________________________________________________

Weiss sat outside in the pavilion that her father had once built for the sister she wasn’t allowed to talk about anymore, tightly wrapped up in a blanket, allowing her eyes to wander across the rose garden because no one was watching. Her brother would have told her to focus on the book she was supposed to read. Her mother would have told her to stop dreaming because dreams only ever cause pain.

She read the sentences again and again, but couldn’t make any sense of them. Her father had told her to read up on the history of her kingdom, but right now she couldn’t make herself keep her mind on it. The sun was shining, bees humming outside and she was still cold.

“I’m-“

She looked up and froze. A girl stood in front of her, eyes red like roses and widened in shock, her glare burning right into her soul.

“You shouldn’t be here”, Weiss said.

The girl looked back outside, hesitant to leave. Weiss could hear voices. Guards? She didn’t look like she belonged here, dressed like a housemaid, but her black dress was tattered and they never allowed their maids to wear their hair down like she did.

“You don’t belong here”, she repeated.

“I swear I don’t want to do you any harm. If you just let me hide inside of here for a moment I will… I will owe you a favour.”

“Are you…” Weiss stood up, book and blanket falling to the floor. She could hear the voices coming closer. “Are they looking for you?”

“They will cut my hand off if they find me.”

“You’re a thief.” A warm shiver ran down her spine. She had never met a thief before. But the girl didn’t look dangerous. For a moment, she knew what she was supposed to do, and doing the exact opposite felt so frighteningly thrilling her heart pounded hard against her ribcage.

“Get under the bench”, she said, and as the girl did so she put the blanket upon the bench so it would cover her completely.

“Your majesty”, said a voice just outside the pavilion. Weiss stepped in front of the door and the guards did not dare to come closer, did not dare to glance up at her. “We are looking for a thief.”

“No one disturbed my studies except you.”

“It’s not safe here, you should go back inside.”

“I shall continue studying and if you cannot keep me safe in the gardens I shall have my father replace you.”

The guards promptly left and Weiss turned around. “They’re gone”, she said and the girl moved from her hiding spot.

“Thank you”, she said.

“You should probably wait until you leave this place. No one will suspect you here.” She wasn’t even sure why she had done it, why she had protected her. Why she still did.

“So you don’t mind my being here?” She raised her eyebrows. Sceptically.

But maybe it was because no one else had ever dared to look at her like that.

“You still owe me a favour”, Weiss said. “What’s your name?”

For a moment, she hesitated, still sitting on the floor and looking up at her. “Emerald.”

Weiss sat down on the bench. “So why did you steal?”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am, why else would I ask?”

Emerald shook her head. “Because I need something to eat, somewhere to live. That’s how it works in the world outside of the palace.”

“What is it like?”

“What?”

“The world outside the palace.”

______________________________________________________________

_“Your heart is warm and vivid”, her mother had always said while sipping her morning champagne, smiling at her with sad and tired eyes._

_“It’s not a bad thing, but you’re a princess, and everything it will ever do is to hurt and to long.”_

______________________________________________________________

“No one will recognize you”, Emerald said. “Not in those clothes.”

Weiss felt surprisingly awkward, wearing a blue dress and a dark cloak Emerald had gotten for her, pulling the hood down to cover most of her face. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, because no one will suspect you here.” Emerald pulled back the hood and brushed a single strand of hair out of her face. “The less you try to hide, the less people will suspect you actually have something to hide.”

She took her by the hand and Weiss’ cheek still felt warm where Emerald had touched it.

______________________________________________________________

_“You have your mother’s eyes”, her father had always said, and Weiss had never been sure if it was meant as a compliment or not._

_“And you have your sister’s temper. But I will get that out of you soon enough.”_

______________________________________________________________

Weiss had never known how warm a kiss could feel and how much it could leave her longing for more.

“I shouldn’t have…” Emerald blinked, insecure for once.

“No.” Weiss knew deep down that Emerald was right, that they shouldn’t be doing this. That she shouldn’t be sitting on the castle wall with her, in the middle of the night, watching the city lights, her cloak wrapped around both their shoulders to keep each other warm. That a kiss was something to be shared with someone she would marry one day, a good alliance, a rational choice. Not a thief with red eyes and soft lips.

But this felt like everything was falling into place, exciting and calming, warm and refreshing, all at once. This felt right.

“I wanted you to do that”, she finally managed to say. “I mean I didn’t know it at the time, but… I wanted you to.”

“You mean while I kissed you, you found out that you actually didn’t mind.”

“It sounds way more pragmatic when you say it.”

Emerald laughed softly and leaned in closer, wrapping her arm around Weiss’ waist. “Good to know, though”, she whispered before she kissed her again.

______________________________________________________________

_“You’re just like your sister”, her brother had always said._

_“You’re both stubborn and one day that will cost you. Too foolish not to give in to your stupid emotions.”_

______________________________________________________________

“You look different”, her mother said.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You smile more.” She sipped her afternoon Scotch and looked at her with somber eyes. “You look happy.”

Weiss wasn’t sure if she even knew what that meant, but if this was happiness she didn’t know how she had been able to live without it before.

“One day you will learn that happiness is not for people like us.”

______________________________________________________________

As long as she could remember, she had always been cold. Freezing in the heat of summer, wrapped up in blankets that couldn’t protect her from the cold inside of her.

Kissing Emerald felt warm, so warm.

“I have to go”, Weiss said, running a hand through Emerald’s soft hair.

“Don’t leave.” Emerald traced her curves with her fingertips.

“I have to be home before sunrise.” She pulled Emerald closer for one last kiss that could never last long enough, then she sat up, searching for her clothes.

“Yeah, I know.” Emerald wrapped her arms around her from behind before Weiss could put on her dress, softly kissing her shoulder, her neck. “I just don’t want you to leave.”

______________________________________________________________

_“You have your father’s dedication”, her sister had always said, sitting on her bedside, fingers clutching the bag that held everything that was dear to her. Everything she would take with her._

_“But you don’t have his heart, because he doesn’t have one. One day it will tell you it was wrong not to come with me.”_

______________________________________________________________

“I will not accept this behaviour”, he said, pacing up and down while Weiss tried to hold back the tears, her cheek burning from the touch of his hand. “You will not leave your room again unless I allow you to. You will think about how inappropriate your actions were. I will not let you end up like your sister. If you ever leave the palace again without my permission I will not let you back in. You will be dead to me. You will lose everything.”

______________________________________________________________

Her room was dark and her cheeks felt numb and cold. She hadn’t known what happiness was until a thief gave it to her. She hadn’t known what longing was until she longed for someone who had once come to steal all the shiny, pretty things that never managed to make her feel anything but loneliness.

When she closed her eyes she could still feel the touch of Emerald’s hands and her lips all over her. Soft and loving touches, the memory of which still made her heart pound fast. If she hadn’t known any better she would have thought that the thief who had come to steal her diamonds had stolen her heart right along with them. But the truth was that she had been the one to give her a heart in the first place.

______________________________________________________________

Once upon a time there was a princess with eyes blue as ice and love burning hot in her chest. Maybe her parents loved her, she wasn’t sure anymore. But she had decided to love herself for once, herself and a thief with dark skin and mint green hair.

Emerald waited for her, the bee’s humming surrounding the meadow she stood on. “So you’re actually leaving? Giving up being a princess?”

“Don’t be stupid, I’ll always be a princess. He can’t take that away from me.” She let her bag fall down on the grass once she had reached Emerald, awkwardly crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Emerald rolled her eyes, but her kiss was soft and warm, it made Weiss melt into her embrace. “So, where are we going then?”, she asked.

“You still owe me a favour. So you’re gonna help me find my sister.”


End file.
